War drama Allied could be so much better

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the wartime thriller (** out of four; rated R; in theaters nationwide Wednesday) tries so hard to be a modern Casablanca – and then imagine what the tale would be like if Rick and Ilsa actually got together – that it shoots down a lot of its finer points.

In 1942, a Canadian soldier, Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), clandestinely parachutes into Nazi held Morocco. In an early scene, when Max and Marianne make love for the first time in a auto, the sand swirls around them in the desert and the camera circles to match, in a manner that’s nearly expressionistic. As they turn against all odds, from make-believe couple to real one, the line between their false identities and the real truth threatens them more than any mission they have yet survived.

On screen, they are an exceedingly attractive pairing and screenwriter Steven Knight offers the actors ample opportunity to get steamy during a love scene set in a violent sandstorm. “I said everything I had to say about it”.

“It was terrible”, Zemeckis said of the response. “It’s not about the intricacies of how the operative worked”. Disheartened as their relationship shifts between love and betrayal, Cotillard milks the melancholy with a touch of Piafian pathos. But as a soft-core auteurist I think it’s nice that Zemeckis – who has become more of a stunt-oriented director over the years – has made a movie that doesn’t rest on state-of-the-art CGI. It’s very entertaining, and at the same time there is a depth and a power to it.

‘No I don’t give energy to this and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience working with such a visionary director and awesome actor so that’s all that matters’.

Allied is well shot, well-acted, and tells a gripping story, but the film never rises to more than the sum of its parts. “There was no other choice”, he says. “That’s what I focused on really”, he further quipped. They’re thrown together in deep cover and have to pull off looking like an old couple, which is no problem for Marianne, who is convincing in every detail of her act. He saw some mysterious tragedy in her eyes, something terribly wistful that reminded him of Piaf, a sad street urchin turned bittersweet worldwide phenomenon. “It was a crossroads for all sorts of shady characters with all these odd alliances”, says the director. “There’s always this little part of the unknown that you always find intimidating”.

JJ: “The rooftop scenes were very evocative-you had to feel the heat”. The costumes are to die for, and but for the frequent and jarring use of the F-word, Allied might properly evoke old Hollywood. “This is really me, as I am before God!”

Working with Zemeckis was another dream for the actress.

They don’t make ’em like they used to, except when they do. One of Brad Pitt’s heavy Irish linen suits, I had a crush on the fabric.

The first movie I can tell you about.

Some of the buzz around “Allied” got hijacked after Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September.

“We were taken to a lovely town house and I had my back to the door and then I felt this hand on my shoulder”.